Prototype 60GHz radio transmits 7Gbit/s over short distances

imec's 60GHz radio supports 7Gbit/s

A prototype 60GHz radio transceiver developed by imec and Panasonic has demonstrated the ability to send data at rates of 7Gbit/s over short distances with very low power consumption. According to the partners, the chip achieves this performance over the four channels specified by the IEEE802.11ad standard.

"We are excited that we achieved together with our partner Panasonic these excellent results," said Liesbet Van der Perre, scientific programme director, green radios. "We invite other companies to join our 60GHz R&D programme as a research partner or to access the technology for further development through licensing."
The 60GHz band is seen as holding great potential for high data rate, short range communications in battery operated hand held consumer products. However, the technology currently faces cost, area and power consumption constraints. Imec says its ultra low power cmos based solution is an important step to solve these challenges.
The chip, produced on a 40nm LP cmos process, has a core area of 0.7mm2. The TX signal path consumes 90mW, while the RX path consumes 35mW.